A month after a major fire last month near a Coupang logistics facility in Incheon, another logistics center fire broke out, prompting the emergency evacuation of about 3,000 people. The fire was initially knocked down by on-site fire suppression systems and was extinguished 14 minutes after the report was received, with no casualties.
According to fire authorities on the 19th, a report came in at about 5:28 p.m. that a fire had broken out at the Incheon Cheongna Logistics Center, a 10-story aboveground building in Wonchang-dong, Seo District, Incheon.
When the fire broke out, about 2,050 people inside the building evacuated on their own, and the remaining about 950 followed responding firefighters' guidance to exit the building. In all, about 3,000 people evacuated, but no casualties have been confirmed so far.
Fire authorities deployed 81 personnel and 33 pieces of equipment to search every floor and found no additional signs of fire. When crews arrived, the flames had already been contained, and only smoke was coming from the switchboard in the basement level 1 mechanical room.
Fire authorities are considering the possibility that the fire started at the switchboard installed in the basement level 1 mechanical room or in a bus duct, a wiring system that supplies high-capacity power, and are investigating the exact cause of ignition and the scale of property damage.
Six corporations, including Coupang, are tenants in the building. However, it was confirmed that the basement level 1 area where smoke occurred is not a space where Coupang is a tenant or manages; it is a zone managed by the landlord.
A Coupang representative said, "Immediately after the smoke occurred, all employees of the tenant companies, including Coupang, evacuated safely," and noted, "The area where the smoke occurred is not a place where Coupang is a tenant or manages."
Earlier, on the 18th last month, a major fire broke out at the Coupang 32 Logistics Center in Seoknam-dong, Seo District, Incheon, near this site. The fire was extinguished after 109 hours. There were no casualties, but two firefighters received hospital treatment for exhaustion during the suppression effort.